PR

Spontaneity

May 6, 2012 by Kristy 22 Comments

aka – Broad Street Run recap.

Warning: I’m going to start out negative and end on a positive note. This race is a bit of a nightmare. Back in the day, it used to be a fun and relatively small event. Now, it’s hysteria. From the expo, to parking, to the subway ride, to the porta potties…long lines everywhere. But what else can you expect when you allow 40,000 runners in? Broad needs to take a lesson from the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler – start doing a lottery system and cap the damn race!

So why do I run it every year? I love the course. Flat, fast, and straight ahead. And they do have good food at the finish.

I said earlier this week that I didn’t have a plan since I wasn’t sure how my legs would hold up 3 weeks post-Boston. My current PR is 1:19:13, from Cherry Blossom last year. I wasn’t sure I could beat it and frankly, I didn’t care. Honest. I just wanted to have a good time out there.

I started out Mile 1 just under 8:00 pace. I felt good but everyone always feel good during Mile 1.

By Mile 5 I was still running under 8:00 but I was just waiting for the dead marathon legs to set in.

Mile 6…still waiting for dead legs.

During Mile 7 I did the math and realized I could PR. I kicked it up a notch.

I crossed the finish line in 1:18:28 – a new PR!

Spontaneity works well, apparently. I may have to implement the no-plan plan more often. And all that speed work I did for Boston didn’t go to waste!

Do you have a love-hate relationship with a specific race because of its size? For me, it’s definitely Broad Street. But I love the course and the tradition of doing it each year.

Boston Goals: Have Fun, No Pressure

April 4, 2012 by Kristy 22 Comments

As I alluded to on Monday, my mental mojo this training cycle went into hiding. I feel great physically…so now I have (less than) 2 weeks to find my mojo and whip it into shape.

I can’t be surprised by the mental burnout. Let me explain…

I took a year off marathoning in 2009 to get married, buy a house, and go on a long honeymoon. I ran a few HMs but mainly ran for fun and enjoyment. I had 5 marathons under my belt but my training for them wouldn’t be what I considered “intense”.

Fast forward to January 2010 – I register for marathons #6 and 7, ramp up my training intensity and mileage, and try to slowly chip away at my PR in an effort to get closer to qualifying for Boston.

September 11, 2011…I finally BQ after 2 years of hard work. Marathons 6 through 9 were essentially back-to-back…Spring, Fall, Spring, Fall. One training cycle after another. And in between cycles, trying not to lose the speed that I had built up.

While training for Boston, I begin to grow weary of the intensity. I just want to run! Not worry about pace! Two plus years of training for a PR and pressuring myself to PR has left me fried mentally.

Of course I want to PR in Boston. But I also want to have fun and put no pressure on myself whatsoever.

So what does all this rambling mean? Besides I’m a complete headcase and desperately need a break from racing post-Boston?

My Boston goal:

Enjoy the race while running as fast as you can that day 🙂

Pretty different from my “sub-3:40 or bust” goal a few months ago, huh? “That day” being the key words. Sometimes you have a good day, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you can turn a race that is headed south into a good race and sometimes you can’t.

But whatever I feel on April 16 – good or bad – doesn’t matter. I will have fun no matter what and I’m hoping that by removing the pressure to PR, I may actually PR. Reverse running psychology, right?

Tell me your best I-can’t-believe-I-PR’d stories! It can be any distance. I tend to PR unexpectedly in 10-milers. That’s a good thing, considering I’m running one 3 weeks after Boston (yes, 1 more race!).

Crying Uncle and Boston Week 10 Recap

March 14, 2012 by Kristy 14 Comments

On Monday I posted this on Pinterest (please follow me and then teach me all about Pinterest because I have no clue):

I follow this about 99.9% of the time but it’s ironic that on Tuesday morning I crapped out on my last tempo mile. The plan was to run 10 miles with 4 miles around MP and 4 miles around 7:45 pace. The 4 MP miles were easy, and we (my neighbor was running with me) averaged around 8:05 pace…so faster than MP (maybe that was my downfall?). The next miles (7:45 pace) were harder but doable. We came up on a section of trail that was flooded so we moved over to run on the muddy grass and it slowed us down. Once I transitioned back onto the paved trail I could not pick up the pace again. My legs didn’t want to move any faster. I cried uncle and did a 2-mile cool down instead. At least I was able to get in 3 miles at 7:45ish pace.

I’m not a robot and have to throw in the towel sometimes. It did bother me that I didn’t get that last mile in but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.

So I can’t NOT talk about The Bachelor season finale. I can’t believe I gave up an hour of sleep to watch it (on the plus side, I need to visit Switzerland immediately!). I kinda had a feeling he would choose Courtney. Courtney did seem really excited about the ring – errr, proposal. “It feels so heavy on my hand, Ben.” That’s a completely normal statement seconds after getting engaged, right?

Boston Week 10 Recap
MON: 8 easy
TUE: 11 tempo with 10 miles at MP – this was an awesome, confidence-boosting run!
WED: 8 easy
THU: 8 easy with 5 long hill repeats
FRI: rest
SAT: 15 with 13 miles at MP – another good run!
SUN: rest

50 miles total and the taper is within my reach! 2 1/2 weeks of hard work left and then I get to rest my legs. I really can’t believe Boston will be here so soon. I’m starting to freak out a bit and get excited!

Do you give up easily on training runs or races? I don’t on training runs but if I’m having a bad race day and I know I won’t PR, I will sometimes throw in the towel. It’s a terrible habit thinking that a PR is the most important thing. You can learn so much from bad races.

If you watched The Bachelor, gimme your thoughts!

3 Marathons, 1 Year

May 1, 2011 by Kristy 11 Comments

My unofficial time for the NJ Marathon is around a 3:52. This is why I should be happy:

My 6th, 7th, and 8th marathons were all done in the span of a year.
6th marathon (May 2010): 4:13. %^&*!!!!! This was my 3 consecutive time finishing in the 4:10ish range. I was pissed.
7th marathon (October 2010): 3:58. Elated to finally break 4 hours AND score a 12-minute PR.
8th marathon (today): 3:52ish. Another PR…by about 6 minutes.

I should be thrilled, right? Usually, by your 8th marathon, PRs are hard to come by. I’m not happy though…in fact, I’m pretty bummed.

Today didn’t quite turn out as planned. No BQ and no 3:50. What makes me SO mad is that I ran faster training runs than I did today. I knew I could do it.

The sun took a toll on me. Temperature-wise the weather was perfect. But the sun was relentless. Running down the shore can be tough. Lots of long stretches of black asphalt and no shade. Today was no different. Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect beach day, but not for a race.

My left quad cramped up pretty badly at mile 20. This has never happened before so I think it may have been the heat…I was possibly getting dehydrated? Stretching helped for a little while but I ended up doing a “skip-limp” for the last 1.5 miles.

I’m allowing myself to feel bad for today ONLY. I know I’m being very hard on myself. I’m hoping in a few days I’ll actually be happy about my PR!

Full recap to come this week (with pictures)!

Again…thank you all for your texts, emails, tweets, and kind messages. I thought about all my loving family, friends, and blog buddies a lot during the race.

Congrats to everyone who raced today…Broad Street Runners, Big Sur, and Eugene runners!

The Final Stretch of the Monster Month

April 5, 2011 by Kristy 10 Comments

4/5/11

8 miles tempo

1:11

8:52 avg pace

1 mile warm-up
6 miles at GMP (8:45 pace): 8:44, 8:43, 8:34, 8:32, 8:46, 8:45
1 mile cool-down

I still have some residual soreness from Sunday’s race 🙁

Proof that the hourly forecast on weather.com is worthless: it was warm and a little humid when I started running. It started to drizzle, which I didn’t mind. I love running in the rain and it was actually refreshing. Then it started pouring, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees, and the wind was smacking me relentlessly in the face. Waaaah!

This week is my last big training week before the taper. I’m trying to rally hard since in my mind I just ran a race and race = an easy week of training afterwards. This will be my highest mileage week of this cycle – 43 miles – which still isn’t much compared to my previous training plans. I also have a 22-miler on schedule for Saturday. I really want to do well in that run since (for me at least) it sets the tone for my marathon.

Week 13 recap of NJ Marathon training:
MON: 6 easy
TUE: 15 long
WED: rest
THU: 7 easy
FRI: yoga
SAT: rest
SUN: 10 mile race

A total of 38 miles for the week. I’m glad I was able to get in most of my key workouts and still manage a PR in a tune-up race.

Here are some pictures from Sunday’s race (sorry they are so small, I tried to make them as big as possible). I want to preface these pictures by saying that 99.9% of the time, I HATE my race pics. I always look like I’m speed walking and I have a miserable look on my face. With that being said…

463D78_tfa64wjz2g_80085678_4x6 — The best one of the bunch

463D78_tfa64wjz2g_80042884_4x6 — This was taken pre-race. I don't normally stand like that, I was freezing!

463D78_tfa64wjz2g_80076203_4x6 — How is it possible for both of my feet to be on the ground? I also appear to be in agony, while the guy next to me is having a blast.

Does anyone like race day photos? I always think they are so unflattering!

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler Race Report

April 4, 2011 by Kristy 16 Comments

Matt and I made it back to Philly safe and sound, albeit a little sore from yesterday’s race. We had a great weekend in DC and realized how much we miss living there. Thankfully, we get to visit quite often!

I loved this race and would definitely do it again. Fast and flat course, much like Philly’s Broad Street Run. Well organized with the exception of numerous locked porta potties pre-race. Apparently no one had the key either so race officials had to literally hammer the locks off. Nice. The weather ended up being perfect too; just a little cold at the start.

The only goal I made known to the blog world was to PR (beat my 1:23 time). I was pretty sure I could do this. On the way down to DC, I told Matt that I wanted to break 1:20. Lofty? Yes. I knew exactly what that entailed – maintaining a sub-8:00 pace for 10 miles. I wasn’t sure if I could do that…but I needed to try.

My strategy was to start out slow (always the best way to go) and then pick up the pace to just below 8:00 and keep it there. We had to check in our bags pretty early so we were left hanging in the cold for almost a 1/2 hour. My body was literally trembling and my muscles were getting stiff. I knew I needed to take the first mile easy to allow my body to warm up.

Mile 1 (8:14): right on target. This is exactly what I wanted to do. We started by running down a small hill and I heard someone say that we get to come back up the hill at the end of the race. I was hoping he was wrong and they had somehow changed to course.

Mile 2 (7:51): a little fast but my breathing was nice and controlled. By this time I had completely warmed up.

Mile 3 (7:43): this is where I committed to running a sub-1:20. I felt good and I wanted to give it a shot. I figured if I crashed and burned at Mile 6 I would probably still PR. I just had to try.

Miles 4 and 5 (both ~ 7:49): I missed the mile marker for Mile 4. Saying that I was glued to my Garmin would be an understatement. I must have glanced at it every 10 seconds.

Miles 6 (7:49) and 7 (7:50): a beautiful section of the course. We entered East Potomac Park and were running between rows of cherry blossoms along the river.

Miles 8 (7:49) and 9 (7:48): I start to get tired and I have to really push to maintain pace. I kept thinking back to my last marathon and how I felt like slowing down at Mile 23 but didn’t allow myself to give in. There was no way I was going to work my butt off for 23 miles and then slow down for the last 3?! That just didn’t make sense. I used the same thinking here – you came this far, do NOT give up.

Mile 10 (7:42): Remember the slight hill I mentioned during Mile 1? Well it reappeared during the last 1/4 mile. Fun. I plowed up it and then saw the finish line. I can’t believe I ran the last mile in 7:42!!!! I wanted that sub-1:20!!!

Official results:
1:19:12 (7:56 pace)
age group: 135/1857 (woo hoo!)

This is so helpful mentally with a marathon less than 4 weeks away 🙂

Matt’s results: 1:42:57 (10:18 pace). Matt doesn’t train at all. Literally rolls out of bed and pulls 10:00 min/miles outta nowhere!

Now for the fun stuff – pictures! I was a good blogger and made sure I snapped a few along the way…

DSCN0193 — Foam roller doubles as a tripod. Can you spot the White Chocolate Wonderful in the background?!

Washington-20110403-00029 — Sun rising over the Washington Monument

Washington-20110403-00032 — Post-race...so pretty!

I have to provide some background for the next picture. Matt has these gloves from a race he did a few years ago. They say “one more mile” on them. Every time he puts them on he says to me, “You know me…just one more mile. That’s my mantra”. If you know Matt, this is hysterical. Remember, he doesn’t train. One more mile is torture to him. After I took this picture, I almost peed myself.

I hope I didn’t bore you to tears! Thank you for your kind comments on my PR. They meant a lot to me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them!